Magnesium is very easy to machine, with good surface finish and prolonged tool life. However care should be exercised because of its high rate of oxidation and the danger of fire (the element is pyrophoric).
Molybdenum is ductile and work-hardening, so it can produce poor surface finish. Sharp tools are necessary. Nickel-based alloys are work-hardening, abrasive, and strong at high temperatures. Their machinability is similar to that of stainless steels.
Tantalum is very work-hardening, ductile, and soft. Itproduces a poor surface finish; tool wear is high.
Titanium and its alloys have poor thermal conductivity (indeed, the lowest of all metals), causing significant temperature rise and built-up edge; they can be difficult to machine.
Tungsten is brittle, strong, and very abrasive, so its machinability is low, although it greatly improves at elevated temperatures.
Zirconium has good machinability. It requires a coolant-type cutting fluid, however, because of the explosion and fire.
20.9.3 Machinability of Various Materials
Graphite is abrasive; it requires hard, abrasion-resistant, sharp tools.
Thermoplastics generally have low thermal conductivity, low elastic modulus, and low softening temperature. Consequently, machining them requires tools with positive rake angles (to reduce cutting forces), large relief angles, small depths of cut and feed, relatively high speeds, and
proper support of the workpiece. Tools should be sharp.
External cooling of the cutting zone may be necessary to keep the chips from becoming “gummy” and sticking to the tools. Cooling can usually be achieved with a jet of air, vapor mist, or water-soluble oils. Residual stresses may develop during machining. To relieve these stresses, machined parts can be annealed for a period of time at temperatures ranging from 80 C to 160 C ( 175 Fto 315 F),and then cooled slowly and uniformly to room temperature. Thermosetting plastics are brittle and sensitive to thermal gradients during cutting. Their machinability is generally similar to that of thermoplastics.
Because of the fibers present, reinforced plastics are very abrasive and are difficult to machine. Fiber tearing, pulling, and edge delamination are significant problems; they can lead to severe reduction in the load-carrying capacity of the component. Furthermore, machining of these materials requires careful removal of machining debris to avoid contact with and inhaling of the fibers.
The machinability of ceramics has improved steadily with the development of nanoceramics (Section 8.2.5) and with the selection of appropriate processing parameters, such as ductile-regime cutting (Section 22.4.2).
Metal-matrix and ceramic-matrix composites can be difficult to machine, depending on the properties of the inpidual components, i.e., reinforcing or whiskers, as well as the matrix material.
20.9.4 Thermally Assisted Machining
Metals and alloys that are difficult to machine at room temperature can be machined more easily at elevated temperatures. In thermally assisted machining (hot machining), the source of heat—a torch, induction coil, high-energy beam (such as laser or electron beam), or plasma arc—is forces, (b) increased tool life, (c) use of inexpensive cutting-tool materials, (d) higher material-removal rates, and (e) reduced tendency for vibration and chatter.
It may be difficult to heat and maintain a uniform temperature distribution within the workpiece. Also, the original microstructure of the workpiece may be adversely affected by elevated temperatures. Most applications of hot machining are in the turning of high-strength metals and alloys, although experiments are in progress to machine ceramics such as silicon nitride.
SUMMARY
Machinability is usually defined in terms of surface finish, tool life, force and power requirements, and chip control. Machinability of materials depends not only on their intrinsic properties and microstructure, but also on proper selection and control of process variables. 制造工程与技术英文文献和中文翻译(3):http://www.youerw.com/fanyi/lunwen_29994.html